Redbad (film)
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''Redbad'' is a 2018 Dutch
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
directed by
Roel Reiné Roel Reiné (born 15 July 1970 in Eindhoven) is a Dutch film director. Occasionally he uses the alias John Rebel (''Bear'', ''Wolf Town''). His production company is called Rebel Film. Career Starting off directing television series and films ...
. It is based on the life of Radbod, an early medieval Frisian leader. The film was intended as the middle part of a trilogy about iconic Dutch/Frisian heroes, starting with the film ''
Michiel de Ruyter Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter (; 24 March 1607 – 29 April 1676) was a Dutch States Navy officer. His achievements with the Dutch navy during the Anglo-Dutch Wars earned him the reputation as one of the most skilled naval commanders in ...
'', about the 17th century admiral
Michiel de Ruyter Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter (; 24 March 1607 – 29 April 1676) was a Dutch States Navy officer. His achievements with the Dutch navy during the Anglo-Dutch Wars earned him the reputation as one of the most skilled naval commanders in ...
, and ending with an unmade film about William of Orange.


Cast


Production


Casting

In August 2017, Gijs Naber was announced as the lead actor, and Huub Stapel would play Redbad's father Frysian king Aldgisl Soon afterward it was confirmed that Derek de Lint, Egbert-Jan Weber,
Loes Haverkort Loes Haverkort (born 19 January 1981) is a Dutch actress. She has performed in movies, television shows and theatre productions. Career Haverkort did her acting course at the Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts. She has performed in the music ...
, Lisa Smit, Martijn Fischer, Tuin Keulboer, Aus Greidanus sr., Jack Wouterse, Renée Soutendijk and
Birgit Schuurman Birgit Schuurman (born 1 July 1977, in Utrecht) is a Dutch singer and actress. Biography Schuurman was born in Utrecht and raised in Bunnik as the daughter of a Dutch father and a Surinamese mother. She's the younger sister of Katja Schuurman ...
were all cast and in October 2017 actor,
Jonathan Banks Jonathan Ray Banks (born January 31, 1947) is an American actor. He played FBI Special Agent Frank McPike in the television series '' Wiseguy'' (1987–1990). For his role, he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supportin ...
was also cast for the film.


Filming

The film was shot in the prehistoric village-museum in
Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...
, De Alde Feanen National Park,
Ameland Ameland (; ) is a municipality and one of the West Frisian Islands off the north coast of the Netherlands. It consists mostly of sand dunes and is the third major island of the West Frisians. It neighbours islands Terschelling to the west a ...
,
Moddergat Moddergat is a fishing village in Noardeast-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 221 in January 2017. Before 2019, the village was part of the Dongeradeel municipality. The name of the village means ...
, the
Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( ; ; or ; ; ; ) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of low-lying Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tida ...
, Denmark, the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
city of Wallsbüll and the Bouillon Castle in Belgium. The film was shot in 42 days and used more than 10,000 extras, which is a record amount for a Dutch production. The final shooting day was on 19 November 2017. The sound for film movie was produced by
Dolby Atmos Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels as well as free-moving sound objects, interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horiz ...
. Before the film's release it was already sold to multiple countries and territories, among them
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,
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,
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,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
,
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
,
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
,
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
,
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
, the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
, the Middle East and the
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. In February Epic Pictures Group bought the North American distribution rights. Early test footage of the film was shown on 31 March and 1 April at Dutch Comic Con in the Jaarbeurs in
Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
.


Trailer controversy

In May 2018, the producers of the film announced that
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
and
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
had sent an email to them that they would not show the trailer of the film on their platforms because it was considered offensive to large groups of people. Producer Klaas de Jong also mentioned he got hundreds of angry mails from Christians who did not agree with their depiction of historical events.


Release


Box office

The film premiered on 23 June 2018, in an open air screening on the Wilhelminasquare in
Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...
, as part of the celebrations around the
European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...
, a week later, on 28 June, it was released in cinemas nationwide. After its first month it only earned €332,785 back from its 8 million euro budget, making it the biggest
box office bomb A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...
in the country's history. The producers of the film claimed this was because the warm weather and
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
kept the public outside of cinemas. The film was released in 4DX in two
Pathé Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...
-cinemas in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
and
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
, making it the first Dutch film released in 4DX. Seven weeks after its release it was already moved to
video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...
-platform Pathé Thuis. This was at the time the shortest window between a theatre release and home release for a big Dutch production, which normally takes a period of three months. The film was also later edited into a four-part television miniseries, where they showed unused footage of the film.


Critical response

The film received overwhelmingly negative reviews from the major Dutch newspapers. The ''
Algemeen Dagblad The ''Algemeen Dagblad'' (; ), also known by its initialism ''AD'' () is a Dutch daily newspaper based in Rotterdam. History and profile ''Algemeen Dagblad'' was founded in 1946. The paper is published in tabloid format and is headquartered i ...
'' said that everything in this movie takes too long, “the fight scenes, the introductions of the characters and the explanatory dialogue slow down the movie”. ''
De Volkskrant ''De Volkskrant'' (; ), stylized as de Volkskrant, is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium- ...
'' gave it two stars, praising the fight scenes but finding the screenplay clearly lacking in logic and tension. ''
NRC Handelsblad ''NRC'', previously called ' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by Mediahuis NRC. It is widely regarded as a newspaper of record in the country. History was first published on 1 October 1970 after a merger of the Amst ...
'' said the movie was weighed down by a very top-heavy screenplay and an over reliance on drama. ''
Trouw ''Trouw'' (; ) is a Dutch daily newspaper appearing in compact size. It was founded in 1943 as an orthodox Protestant underground newspaper during World War II. Since 2009, it has been owned by DPG Media (known as De Persgroep until 2019). '' ...
'' praised actor
Gijs Naber Gijs Naber (; born 9 August 1980 in Vinkeveen) is a Dutch actor. He appeared in more than thirty films since 1998. Filmography Awards *Golden Calf for Best Actor (2014) for ''Aanmodderfakker'' References External links

* 1980 bir ...
but complained about the awful dialogue which was clearly written from a 21st-century perspective. ''
De Telegraaf ''De Telegraaf'' (; ) is the largest Netherlands, Dutch daily morning newspaper. Haro Kraak,Gaat Paul Jansen de crisis bij De Telegraaf oplossen?, ''de Volkskrant'', 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015. Paul Jansen has been the editor-in-chief since ...
'' while praising the ambition of the movies said that it takes too long and is overly reliant on close-ups and slow motion-scenes. They also praised
Jonathan Banks Jonathan Ray Banks (born January 31, 1947) is an American actor. He played FBI Special Agent Frank McPike in the television series '' Wiseguy'' (1987–1990). For his role, he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supportin ...
in his role and remarked that it looked as if actor Jack Wouterse was in a completely different movie. ''
Het Parool ''Het Parool'' () is an Amsterdam-based daily newspaper. It was first published on 10 February 1941 as a resistance paper during the German occupation of the Netherlands (1940–1945). In English, its name means ''The Password'' or ''The Motto' ...
'' praised the fact that director Roel Reine put his own signature on the film and that the troubled production was barely noticeable. However they do mention that it is sometimes noticeable that they did not have enough extras in some of the fight scenes.


Historical inaccuracies

In an article by Asing Walthaus of the ''
Leeuwarder Courant The ''Leeuwarder Courant'' is the oldest daily newspaper in the Netherlands. Founded by Abraham Ferwerda, it first appeared in 1752. The ''Leeuwarder Courant'' was the first paper in the Dutch province Friesland and its capital Leeuwarden. It is ...
'', historian Han Nijdam noted several historical inaccuracies. He pointed out that the castle in the film and the knights with chainmail armour are from the
Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...
and not from the
Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...
that the film depicts. He also complained that the film portrays the Frysians as barbarians in animal hides living in leaking huts even though it is proven that they lived in wooden houses with woven
tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art which was traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical pieces are intended to han ...
on their walls. It was his conclusion that the film puts spectacle over any form of historical accuracy.


Awards and nominations

The film was selected for the international Look-competition of the Ostend Film Festival. In July 2018, it was one of nine films shortlisted by the EYE film institute to be the Dutch entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the
91st Academy Awards The 91st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2018 in film, films of 2018 and took place on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During th ...
, but it was not selected. The film played at the
Netherlands Film Festival The Netherlands Film Festival () is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht. During the ten-day festival, Dutch film productions and co-productions are exhibited. Besides feature films, the prog ...
but was, to the surprise of some major newspapers, not nominated for any Golden Calves.


YouTube lawsuit

In November 2018, the producers of the film announced that they would be suing
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
for 200,000 euros because illegal copies of the film were viewed half a million times on the website.


References


External links


Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Redbad 2018 films 2018 drama films 2018 biographical drama films 2010s historical drama films Dutch biographical drama films Dutch historical drama films 2010s Dutch-language films Films directed by Roel Reiné Films scored by Trevor Morris (musician) 4DX films Historical epic films Dutch-language drama films